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Far Isle Incident
|name=Far Isle Incident |image= |conflict= |date=July 16th-August 2nd, |place= |result=Total destruction of province of Razgriz and forces there, cause of the |side1= |side2= |side3= |side4= |commanders1= |commanders2= |commanders3= |commanders4= |forces1= |forces2= |forces3= |forces4= |casual1=Heavy |casual2=Extremely heavy |casual3= |casual4= }} }} The Far Isle Incident was a revolt on the colony of in , and the most cited reason for the beginning of the . The uprising had its roots in the colony's strong pro-independence culture, leading to a number of demonstrations. While prior to , these demonstrations were effective in making policy changes. However, after a demonstration in which personnel joined the protestors, and a gunfight erupted, the stationed a garrison on the planet. The next four years caused the pro-independence movement to become more extreme as the troops cracked down on it far harder than the colonial military. In , the tensions came to a head, and armed citizens stormed the capital of the province of Razgriz, and declared the province an entity independent from the and the . In the province, most of the and units joined the revolt. Outside of the province, battles broke out across the colony between loyalist and rebel forces. After an attempt to halt the rebellion by the and remaining loyalist colonial military personnel ended in a defeat, and with reinforcements weeks, if not months away, time that could allow the rebels to take over the whole planet, , the adviser to the garrison commander, urged him to use nuclear weapons to halt the rebellion in its tracks. On August 2nd, the 28th Fighter Squadron was loaded with standoff missiles armed with , and given orders to release them at a predetermined point. The weapons impacted all over rebel-controlled territory, and their intended effect was achieved. The rebellion was halted, but at a high cost. Those few rebels who survived the nuclear attack escaped to . Order of Battle The First Days On July 16th, , as had been occurring for years, a pro-colonial independence demonstration began in the capital of the province of Razgriz, one of the subdivisions of the colony . As was customary, the and troops were brought in to reinforce local law enforcement and make sure that the situation did not spiral out of control. However, the request for support in the situation by the local authorities was denied, due to the fact a similar situation was developing in the planetary capital. Unbeknownst to the government, this was not a coincidence, as more extremist elements of the pro-independence movement had specifically made it so that a number of protests would occur at more or less the same time to give them the greatest chance of success. At 1326 Hours, several squads of men claiming to be arrived at the provincial capital building, with forged orders stating that they were extra security for the government officials. The impersonators made their way inside, and then opened fire, killing most of the security detail already inside the building. Quickly taking over the building, the leader of the group, Fracis Tazov, came out onto the balcony, and made an speech declaring the province of Razgriz in full secession from the government of . Most of the colonial troops were dumbstruck as to what they were seeing, however, one man fired a fusillade of rounds from his at Tazov, setting off a riot. Those colonial troops who did not join the rioters either fled or were driven back by weight of numbers. For the next five days, battles erupted, not just in Razgriz, but all across , between those supporting the rebels and those still loyal to the . In Razgriz, mutinies spread amongst the and . While not all colonial troops supported the independence movement, they feared what their fates might be if they attempted to fight against the pro-independence troops, who greatly outnumbered. By July 24th, most of Razgriz, civilian government and military institutions alike, had pledged their support to the rebels. On July 25th, a meeting of and those commanders who stayed loyal was convened. In the meeting, it was agreed an offensive would be launched into Razgriz on the 27th, by a combination of and loyalist forces. In a feverish operation, the forces were moved into position, and on the afternoon of July 27th, the offensive began. Counterattack Despite high hopes that the offensive would quickly crush the rebellion, the joint - force began having problems almost as soon as they entered the Free State of Razgriz's territory. Supply lines were ambushed by armed civilians and regular Razgrizian soldiers, and aerial superiority was never achieved. Thanks to sympathetic informants within the forces, the rebels knew almost every move the loyalist forces were making. Any air attacks were ambushed by Razgrizian Air Force pilots, and, with every step being treacherous, added to the stress put on supply lines, the morale of the force began to dip to the point that there was widespread talk of desertions in the ranks. The death knell for the offensive came on July 30th, when a counteroffensive was launched against the - force. Already at a low point, many units of the , which made up over half of the force, began retreating, leaving only the and what units continued to stand their ground. However, they were not enough to stop the rebel counteroffensive, which was using most, if not all, of the Free State of Razgriz's military resources in hopes that the would be scared into leaving the state alone. By August 1st, almost all the loyalist forces had been driven out of Razgriz, and most units were spreading back to their original positions before the attack. Meanwhile, adviser to the garrison commander, , had been convening with the commander over what to do. The deliberations had been occurring since the 29th, once it became clear it would become a bloody fight to take the province back. Parangosky informed the commander that it would be weeks, if not months, until the message could reach the and they could muster a force and bring it to . By that point, the commanders feared the whole planet could be under rebel control. Parangosky's solution was simple, albeit horrifying. She recommended that the province be bombarded with nuclear weapons to halt the rebels in their tracks, and make an example for any other secessionists on the planet. While initially declaring the plan immoral and that it would not be carried out, the garrison commander, General Zachary Lloyd, agreed that it would be carried out after the horrifying defeat on July 31st. 'The End of the World' In the early hours of August 2nd, , the order came down to the 28th Fighter Squadron to arm their with standoff missiles, each equipped with a , however some were equipped with only excavation-grade weaponry, mainly due to the fact the munitions had to be cobbled together quickly. The squadron took off at 0741 Hours, and at 0817 Hours, the first missiles were released. With Razgrizian radar crews confident that the had been driven off, they dismissed the objects on their screens as anomalies, and continued working. At 0822 Hours, the first bombs detonated over Razgrizian territory. In the minutes that followed, the rest of the missiles reached their targets, incinerating Razgrizian soldier and civilian alike. Those few rebels who survived were underground, in the air, or in one of the areas not affected by the bombs. The bombing's immediate intended effect was achieved. rebels halted most activities, however, most of them had made their way to the colony of , where they started or joined independent settlements deep on the frontier. In the aftermath of the bombing, the tried its best as to cover it up, however, some pirate stations in the managed to conduct and broadcast interviews with residents of Razgriz who had survived the bombardment, only serving to further stoke the fires of the as they painted their feelings and what they saw during and after the bombardment. Category:Safe Havens